Heavy Haul Trailers Open New Markets for ALL Crane

Wed September 25, 2024
ALL Family of Companies

When ALL Erection & Crane Rental, flagship branch and member of the ALL Family of Companies, provided heavy lift equipment to dismantle a 170,000-lb. industrial bolt press in Northeast Ohio, it also was able to offer a secondary, value-added service: delivery of that same massive piece of machinery to its destination in Alsip, Ill.

What enabled the transport service was ALL's recent acquisition of two Faymonville HighwayMAX trailers.

The HighwayMAX is a nine-axle extendable highway trailer with nine hydraulically steered pendle-axles and a legal payload of up to 170,000 lb. (249,000-lb. technical payload). Axle spacing is adjustable by up to 22.5 ft. between each three-axle group, and each axle steers independently at 60 degrees for ultimate maneuverability in tight spaces. All axles are liftable.

"We initially purchased the trailers to haul tracks for two of our own newly acquired crawler cranes, the Liebherr LR 11000 and Liebherr LR 1800," said Brian Meek, sales representative of ALL. "But we soon realized these trailers could offer something unique to our customers, and perhaps even open new markets for us in heavy haul transport."

Faymonville is a European company, known for blending heavy industrial manufacturing expertise with technical know-how and cutting-edge technology. Its accompanying software package allows loads and trailer configurations to be planned in advance, much the same way 3-D lift planning for cranes enables ALL to design, plot, and practice lifts in the virtual world.

"We're able to simulate the load to make sure the axles are carrying an even amount of weight," said Meek. "Because axle spacing and load limits vary by state, the HighwayMAX provides ultimate flexibility."

ALL was first contacted to provide a 360-ton Liebherr LTM 1300-6.2 all terrain crane to remove the bolt press, when inspiration struck to also offer heavy haul services to transport the 25-ft. by 12-ft. piece to the Illinois factory that purchased the equipment.

On the maiden voyage across parts of Ohio, Indiana and Illinois, the load required special permitting and, at times, even police escorts. ALL was already well-versed in arranging these requirements due to decades of transporting its own cranes via an in-house trucking division that includes all the logistics support that entails.

Since that first journey, other heavy-haul jobs have come in to ALL just through word-of-mouth.

"Faymonville trailers are still fairly rare in the U.S.," said Jimmy Hill, logistics manager of ALL. "Once people see what they're capable of, they're interested in trying them out."

By combining technology with practical development, quality manufacturing, and innovative features, the new trailers offer great versatility, payload capacity, maneuverability and quick mobilization.

This versatility is expected to earn it many fans.

"It will be in demand for transporting large industrial equipment, as well as work at steel mills and wind farms," said Hill. "For many of our customers, they will find that anywhere they thought they needed a Goldhofer, they can use the HighwayMAX."

Hill expects the trailers to find many uses for ALL's new and existing customers.

Because every axle on the Faymonville HighwayMAX steers independently, the resulting tighter turning radius enables it to maneuver in more restricted areas than a traditional trailer, especially one of its size. That makes it a welcome tool within the footprint of plants and refineries.

"We'll be able to build crawler cranes in even more constricted areas," said Hill. "It's also ideal for making multiple onsite moves due to the trailer's high maneuverability. The ability to adjust height will also be attractive to plant managers."

For more information, visit www.allcrane.com.

Photo courtesy of ALL Crane